


Tattoos of Memories and Dead Skin on Trial

by WhatsYourNameMan



Series: It’s not Sunset Cis either [9]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Copious amounts of Green Day references, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Mentions of underage drinking, None of the Phantoms are cis and I think that’s beautiful, Tattoos, Trans Character, Willie is an artist, but it’s fun, mentions of top surgery and dysphoria, this is a whole lot of fluff and very little plot, trans!Reggie, trans!alex, trans!luke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:27:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28156065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhatsYourNameMan/pseuds/WhatsYourNameMan
Summary: When Julie walks into the studio after school, she expects to find her boys messing around with their new song, which was all they seemed to be focused on lately. What she does not expect to find is Reggie laying on top of her piano, watching Willie draw something in a shiny new sketchbook.Or, Julie discovers that Reggie has a lot of tattoos and wants one more very important one.Now with a surprise second chapter! Rated T for language.
Relationships: Julie Molina & Reggie Peters, Julie Molina & Reggie Peters & Willie, Julie Molina & Willie, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Ray Molina & Reggie, Willie & Reggie Peters, Willie/Alex Mercer
Series: It’s not Sunset Cis either [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2022667
Comments: 31
Kudos: 336





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Julie & Reggie & Willie (aka the ie squad) is a friendship dynamic that I very very desperately need. 
> 
> If you haven’t read the rest of the series all you need to know is that Willie moved in with Tía Victoria after he was rescued from Caleb. Also, Luke, Alex, and Reggie are all trans. Luke feels like he’s completed his transition but Alex and Reggie aren’t satisfied with where they were when they died. 
> 
> Title from “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) by Green Day.

When Julie walks into the studio after school, she expects to find her boys messing around with their new song, which was all they seemed to be focused on lately. What she does not expect to find is Reggie laying on top of her piano, watching Willie draw something in a shiny new sketchbook (probably a gift from Tía Victoria.)

“Hey guys,” she says, dropping her backpack at the door. “Where’s everyone else?”

“At Bobby’s,” Reggie says, and Julie smiles a bit at how casually he’s able to say that now. She was a little jealous at first, that the boys had gotten their fourth band member back, but it quickly became clear that while they loved Bobby dearly, Julie was the missing piece they always needed. 

“Cool,” she jumps onto the piano next to Reggie and flicks a lock of Willie’s hair. He smiles at her, but keeps his focus on his drawing. He has the same look the boys get when they’re really in the zone working on new lyrics. She doesn’t look at what he’s drawing, as she doesn’t want to invade his privacy. She knows firsthand that drawings can be very personal. “I didn’t know you were an artist,” she says instead. 

Willie shrugs and finally looks up from his page. “It’s just a hobby, really.”

Reggie snorts. “Give yourself some credit, man. You’re great.” 

Willie blushes a bit. “So maybe it was a bit more than a hobby. It started out as just graffiti and decorating my board, but after I...” he clears his throat and looks away from Julie’s eyes. “AfterIgotarrestedforvandalism people around the parks who saw my art started asking me to design boards and tats and stuff for them.”

“He was, like, semi-professional,” Reggie adds on proudly. “Apparently, skaters pay good money for cool boards and tattoos.”

“I could’ve guessed that,” Julie laughs. 

“It was pretty fun.” He glances down at his sketchbook. “I never really figured out what I wanted to do before I died, but I thought being a tattoo artist or a board designer would be cool. Maybe both.”

Julie notices that he’s crossed his arms and is running a thumb over his bicep, which she realized a while ago was his way of soothing himself. She puts a hand on his arm and squeezes. He looks up at her and gives her a soft smile.

“Anyways,” he shrugs. “Reggie wanted to add something to his, so I volunteered my services.” 

Julie frowns, confused. “His... skateboard?”

Reggie suddenly goes bright red, and Willie glances between the two of them before responding, “His tattoo.” 

Julie turns her wide eyes to Reggie. “You have a tattoo?” she gasps. 

“Um, several,” he mutters, rubbing at the back of his neck. 

“What?” Julie cries. “Why didn’t you tell me? Why haven’t I seen them? Where are they? What do they look like? Did they hurt? How were your parents okay with that?” 

“Woah,” Reggie laughs, a little nervous. “Slow down.” 

Willie watches the scene with a twinkle in his eye. “Did you really think Mr. Leather-Jacket-Eyeliner-Ripped-Jeans wouldn’t have any tattoos?” 

“No, I thought Mr. Died-Before-The-Legal-Age-To-Get-Tattoos wouldn’t have any.” 

“Legal age,” Willie snorts. “I think you forget these guys were punk rockers.” 

“I used a fake ID,” Reggie explains. “My artist was also a bartender at one of the clubs we played at so she gave me discounts.”

“Your artist,” Julie mutters. She drops onto the couch, trying to wrap her head around this. “Everything I know about Reggie is wrong.”

“Hey,” Reggie says, “I’m still my sweet old lovable self. I just happen to have a lot of tattoos and no respect for any authority figures that aren’t related to you.” He stops and thinks. “Well, except Mrs. Lieberman, my old bass teacher.” 

Julie lets out an incredulous laugh. “So how many is a lot?”

Reggie does a quick tally in his head. “I guess technically eleven individual ones, but some of them blend together. I was going to get another one after the Orpheum, but... you know.” 

Julie nods. “Can I see them?” 

Reggie hesitates. “Um, yeah, it’s just... most of them are under my binder, so could you give me a minute?”

“Of course.” 

Reggie slips into the bathroom, and Julie glances over at Willie, who’s returned his attention to his sketchbook. 

“Have you seen them?” Julie asks. 

Willie shakes his head. “Just the one he wants me to add onto.” 

“Can ghosts even get tattoos?”

Willie shrugs. “We’re not sure. I mean, definitely not normal ghosts, but with your weird friendship magic, who knows?”

“So what is he gonna say if the artist tries to do it and the needle goes right through him?” 

“There’s this lifer I know from the club,” Willie says, wincing a bit at the memory of Caleb. “He’s a tattoo artist. He was always pretty nice to me, so I reached out to him and he said he’d be willing to try.”

“That’s nice of him,” Julie says. 

Willie nods, and his face becomes more serious. “I think Reg is using this as a test,” he says. “If this works, then...”

“Then maybe Alex and I can get top surgery,” Reggie finishes. He stands in the open bathroom door, clutching his shirt over his chest. “You ready?”

Julie nods and moves closer to him. As she approaches, he explains, “They’re all on my back because they weren’t really meant to be seen by anyone. It was more about the experience of getting them, and the satisfaction of knowing they’re there.” 

He takes a deep breath and turns around to show Julie. Her eyes widen at the canvas that is Reggie’s back. “Wow,” she breathes. “Tía would have a heart attack if she saw this.” 

“Good thing she never will,” Reggie chuckles. 

“Don’t be so sure,” Willie says. “She found mine less than twenty-four hours after I moved in with her. Freaked the fuck out.” 

Julie whips her head around to him. “You have them too?”

Willie laughs and pulls up his crop top to reveal an elaborate abstract design on his left rib resembling a skateboarder in midair. “When you make most of your money off tattoos, eventually you gotta see what the hype is about.” 

“Hey, I’m kinda standing here shirtless,” Reggie says, “so can we maybe come back to Willie’s later?” 

Julie laughs at turns her attention back to him. “Right.” She runs her eyes over his back, studying each design in turn. 

She starts with his right shoulder, which holds what looks like the explosion from the Dookie album cover, but when she gets closer, she sees that instead of smoke, the cloud is made up of little music notes. Beneath that, there’s a detailed brain with a sharp crack down the middle of it splitting it in half. 

“What’s this one?” she asks, touching it. 

Reggie sings the answer. “ _It all keeps adding up, I think I’m cracking up. _”__

__“Green Day, nice,” Willie comments. He offers Reggie a fist bump._ _

__Julie moves on to three little tattoos next to each other in a row on his lower back— a lightning bolt, a crown, and a symbol that combines the “male” and “female” symbols._ _

__“Bowie, Mercury, Prince?” Julie guesses._ _

__“Got it in one,” Reggie grins._ _

__Julie laughs when she sees the next one. “Horses, of course.” Its the silhouette of three horses’ heads with their manes blowing in the wind._ _

__Reggie shrugs. “I was a little drunk when I got that one. It turned out pretty good, though.”_ _

__“Who are you and what have you done with Reggie Molina-Peters?” Julie jokes._ _

__On his left shoulder, there’s four daffodils with their stems intertwined. They’re all different colors— black, red, pink, and blue. Julie touches this one, and Reggie senses her silent question._ _

__“Daffodils mean unequalled love,” Reggie says. He reaches over his shoulder and taps each flower in turn from left to right. “Bobby, me, Alex, and Luke.”_ _

__Julie could cry. “That’s so sweet.”_ _

__She turns to the final two tattoos, which blend together to create the centerpiece. Just beneath the flowers, there’s—of course—a Sunset Curve logo. The tail of it winds down towards the center of his back and morphs into a music staff that takes up most of his skin. On the staff is the bass line for “Now or Never.”_ _

__“This is beautiful, Reg.” She frowns. “But I only count ten.”_ _

__“‘Cause the last one is here.” Reggie turns around and pulls down his shirt just enough to reveal his final tattoo— a bass guitar right above his heart. “Alex, Luke, and Bobby have this one too, with their instruments.”_ _

__“No way.”_ _

__“We got them together the day we found out about the Orpheum gig. This is the one I asked Willie to add onto.”_ _

__“And I just finished the sketch,” Willie chimes in. He brings his sketchbook over and Reggie quickly slips his shirt on._ _

__Willie hands Reggie the book and Julie looks over his shoulder. There’s four ghosts in a row, holding each of the boys’ instruments. One has a beanie, one a fanny pack, and one a necklace with a stone pendant._ _

__“This is adorable,” Julie says, but she squints at the forth ghost. “Wait, that’s not Bobby.” It’s holding a microphone and has a butterfly clip on its head. “That’s... me?”_ _

__Reggie grins, a little sheepish. “Well, originally I was thinking that all three of us could just get our ghost added onto our individual tattoos, but it felt incomplete without you. I’m gonna get all four. I already have Sunset Curve, like, all over me,” he says, reaching back to touch the flowers. “I thought it was time I had Julie and the Phantoms too.”_ _

__Julie pulls Reggie into a hug. It’s a little awkward, as he tries to hold his chest away from hers, but she can feel the love he puts into it. “I love you Reggie,” she says._ _

__“I love you too, Jules,” Reggie laughs._ _

__Julie notices Willie awkwardly hovering and grabs his arm to pull him in. “I love you too, you beautiful artist.”_ _

__Willie giggles. “You guys are the best. Well, besides Alex.”_ _

__Reggie laughs and shoves Willie away from him, heading back to the bathroom to put his binder back on. He stalls in the doorway and locks eyes with Julie. “Don’t tell Dad about this.”_ _

__~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_ _

__That Saturday, Julie finds herself standing in a tattoo parlor for the first and probably last time in her life. The band had slipped away from Ray after family lunch, claiming to be seeing a movie together and then hanging out at the skatepark with Willie. Willie was already at the parlor when they arrived, going over the design with the artist._ _

__“Max, this is Reggie, Alex, Luke, and Julie,” Willie says when they walk in, jumping up to give Alex a kiss in greeting. “Guys, this is Max. He’s a genius.”_ _

__“Well, I won’t argue with that,” Max chuckles. “I will admit though, I’ve never tattooed a ghost before, so I’m not sure how this will go.”_ _

__“Won’t know until we try,” Reggie shrugs._ _

__“Very true,” Max nods. “You up first?”_ _

__“Hell yeah,” Reggie grins._ _

__Reggie lays down and pulls his shirt down to expose his bass tattoo as Max gets prepped. Reggie turns to look at his bandmates. “You know, this might be the first time I’ve actually been nervous about getting a tattoo,” he says._ _

__Alex grabs Reggie’s hand and squeezes. “Just don’t get your hopes up, okay bud? We don’t know this’ll work.”_ _

__“I know,” Reggie says, squeezing back._ _

__“You ready?” Max asks._ _

__Reggie nods. He takes a deep breath and holds it as Max presses the needle to his skin. He starts to tattoo and Reggie laughs with glee. “I can feel it,” he says. “It’s working!”_ _

__The band cheers. They throw their arms around Alex, since Reggie is indisposed._ _

__“Oh my god,” Alex whispers, locking eyes with Reggie. “We can get surgery.”_ _

__“We can get surgery,” Reggie echoes with a grin._ _

__“Yeah,” Julie says, “except now you’ll have to explain to Dad how you know it’s possible.”_ _

__All the color drains from Reggie and Alex’s faces._ _

__“If Ray asks,” Willie says, “I had absolutely nothing to do with this.”_ _


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray finds out about Reggie’s tattoos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! I wasn’t really planning to do a chapter two, and I definitely wasn’t planning for it to get this long or this emotional, but I just had to write Ray’s reaction. Shoutout to PirateCress for coming up with a way better idea for his reaction that I kinda stole for this.

“Ow, fuck,” Reggie hisses, wincing away from the eyeliner pencil he’s just jammed into his eye. Usually he’d do this in the bathroom, but all of them are occupied and they’re already running late for their gig, so Reggie has to resort to the mirror hung in the dimly lit hallway outside Julie’s room. 

“Language,” Ray tsks as he approaches from the end of the hall. 

“Sorry,” Reggie says. 

Ray scoots past him, putting a hand on his shoulder as he does. The contact causes Reggie’s tank top to drag a little bit, revealing his left shoulder. 

“What’s that?” Ray asks. 

“Eyeliner?” Reggie responds. 

“No, this,” Ray says, tapping Reggie’s shoulder, where the edge of Bobby’s daffodil peeks out. 

Reggie straightens immediately, his eyes going wide. “Um.” 

Ray doesn’t seem to notice his panic. “I have flowers there too,” he says. He turns and pulls down his collar to show Reggie a dahlia and a rose with their stems crossing over each other. “Julie’s mom had the same one.”

“That’s beautiful,” Reggie says, letting out a relieved breath. 

“What does yours mean?” Ray asked. 

“There’s a daffodil for each member of Sunset Curve.” Reggie touches his flowers with a soft smile. 

Ray grins at him. “What you boys have is really special.” Suddenly, his face falls. “Wait. You boys are seventeen. Reggie, how the hell do you have a tattoo?” 

Reggie stiffens up again. “Uh...” He searches his brain for some witty comeback that’ll help diffuse the situation, but whenever an adult raises their voice at him it’s like all his words jump out the window to save themselves. “Fake ID?”

“Fake ID,” Ray splutters. “Reginald, do you know how irresponsible that is? What artist was dumb enough to let a seventeen year old kid get a tattoo?” 

“I was sixteen,” Reggie mutters, wincing at his honesty. “And it was several artists.”

“That’s worse!” Ray exclaims. “How many do you have?” 

Reggie hesitates, fidgeting with the sleeves of his flannel.

“Reginald?” Ray demands. 

Reggie sighs. “Fourteen.” 

“¡Dios mío!” Ray bends over and puts his hands on his knees. “I can’t believe you! That is so dangerous and irresponsible, not to mention _illegal_.”

“Please stop yelling,” Reggie whispers. 

Ray snaps his head up and notices Reggie’s glassy eyes and the way he’s hunched in on himself. “Mijo, I’m so sorry,” he says, his voice much softer. “I didn’t mean to yell.”

Reggie opens his mouth to respond, but Julie calls from downstairs, “Dad! Reg! We’re going to be late!” 

Ray sighs. “Alright.” He turns to Reggie. “I’m sorry for yelling. It’s just not every day you find out your kid has fourteen tattoos. We can talk about it—calmly—after the gig. Okay?” 

Reggie nods. 

“Okay,” Ray says. “I love you, mijo.” 

He wraps an arm around Reggie’s shoulders and plants a kiss on his head before leading him down to the car. 

Reggie slides into the backseat next to Alex and pulls his legs up to his chest. 

“You okay buddy?” Alex asks. 

Reggie nods. “I’m fine. Ray just got a little...loud.”

Luke frowns. “About what?”

Ray slides into the front seat and starts the car. “Did you all know your brother has fourteen tattoos?”

Reggie, Alex, Luke, and Julie share a look. 

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Ray sighs. 

“Okay but in Reggie’s defense,” Luke says, leaning forward with a stupidly earnest look on his face. “He got all of them from certified artists and most of them were before we died and he had shitty parents he didn’t care about disappointing, not you.” 

“I’m sorry,” Ray says. “Most of them?” 

“Luke!” Reggie hisses, and Alex thumps Luke on the chest. 

“Please tell me you got the new ones before I knew you existed.” 

“Um, okay,” Reggie says. “I got the new ones before you knew I existed.” 

“Reggie.”

“I got them two weeks ago.” 

“Victoria is going to kill me.” Ray groans.

“Why you?” Luke asks. “We’re the ones who got tattoos.” His eyes widen and he claps a hand over his mouth. 

“If you weren’t already dead, I’d kill you,” Alex mutters. 

“Did you know about this?” Ray turns to Julie. “Oh God, you didn’t get one too, did you?” 

“No!” Julie exclaims. “I’m not as dumb as these three. Give me some credit.”

“I can’t believe I let three teenagers get tattoos on my watch.”

“You have tattoos, Dad,” Julie points out. 

“I got them legally!” Ray cries. 

“Technically,” Alex says, trying to make his voice as placating as possible, “we’re forty-two, and nothing we do is legal because legally, we don’t exist. So really, this isn’t as big a deal as you’re making it.” 

“Not helpful, Alex,” Ray says. 

“Okay,” Alex whispers with a little wince. 

“Why don’t you guys just tell him why you got them?” Julie asks. 

“That’s not really how we wanted to have this conversation,” Reggie mutters.

“What conversation?” Ray asks. 

Reggie and Alex exchange glances, and Alex shrugs. 

“We were using it as a test,” Reggie says. 

Ray pulls into the parking lot outside the venue. “A test of my patience?” He grumbles, getting out of the car. 

The boys scramble out of the car after him. “A test to see if we can modify our bodies,” Reggie says. He takes a deep breath. “Alex and I want to get top surgery.” 

Ray stops in his tracks and looks at Reggie and Alex, his expression unreadable. 

“We don’t expect you to pay for it,” Alex says quickly, his brain clearly launching into overdrive. “We’ve been saving a lot of our gig money, and we’re going to start busking like every day, and Bobby’s center is going to chip on too. Plus Willie took, like, a lot of money from Caleb’s place and he said he’d help us out even though he’s giving most of it to you and Tía—“

Luke elbows Alex. “That was supposed to be a surprise.”

“Yeah, Luke, and the tattoos were supposed to be a secret,” Alex shoots back, and Luke has the decency to look ashamed of himself. 

“Mijos,” Ray interrupts. He steps forward and grabs Reggie and Alex in a hug. “I’m happy for you two. I know how important this surgery is to you, and we’ll figure out the cost, okay? But please, no more secrets.” 

“Okay,” Reggie nods. 

“This is really touching,” Julie says, “but might I remind you all that _we’re late_.” 

“Right,” Ray says. He kisses Alex and Reggie on the head then lets them go. “Good luck in there.” He pushes the boys towards the building and Julie grabs them, dragging them the rest of the way in. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

After the gig, Ray finds Reggie in the studio bathroom taking off his eyeliner. He knocks softly on the open door, just to alert Reggie to his presence. 

“Hey,” Reggie mumbles, scrubbing at a particularly stubborn bit of makeup. 

“Hey kiddo,” Ray says. “Great job tonight.” 

“Thanks.” Reggie throws his makeup wipe in the trash and turns to face Ray. 

There’s a moment of silence before both of them speak at the same time. “I’m sorry—“

Reggie blinks, and Ray chuckles. “Let’s go inside and talk.”

Ray leads Reggie into the kitchen and motions for him to sit on one of the stools at the counter. “Hot cocoa?” He offers. “I even remembered to grab those little marshmallows you like.”

Reggie nods and Ray sets to work making their drinks. “I’m sorry again for yelling,” he says. 

Reggie shrugs. “It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not. I know that can be a trigger for you, and I should have remembered.” Ray pulls two mugs out of the cabinet and sighs. “I wasn’t even really mad about the tattoos. I’m just worried. It’s one thing to get one or two as acts of rebellion or whatever, but fourteen? All before you even turned eighteen? It seems a little... self-destructive, if that makes sense. I just want to know if you were okay. If you _are_ okay. I mean, was what Luke said true? About your parents?” 

“Sort of,” Reggie shrugs. He starts twisting around one of his rings. “They _were_ really shitty, but I cared a lot more about disappointing them than I let on. The tattoos weren’t really about them, though. They were a way to have control over my body before I could transition. And then, I realized that I just really liked tattoos. It’s fun to get them, especially when I get to help design them, and they really fit my look. Plus…” he hesitates. “I don’t know. There weren’t a lot of permanent things in my life, other than music and my friends. So I wanted to make those things a part of me.” Ray hands him one of the mugs, and he gratefully accepts. “I swear, my new ones weren’t some rebellion against you. I just had to know if it was possible. And,” he pulls down his collar and the top of his binder to show Ray the Julie ghost, “I had one more permanent thing I had to add.”

“That’s… that’s actually really sweet, Reg,” Ray says, taking the seat next to him. “You really are okay?” 

Reggie nods. “I really am. I was never as happy in my life as I am now. I love this family. You’re a really great dad.”

Ray chuckles. “I try my best. There’s no book on how to parent your three adopted teenage sons who are also ghosts and technically the same age as you.” Reggie laughs, and Ray takes a moment to watch his face light up before continuing. “Look, I know it has to be hard being seventeen forever, so I just need to you to talk to me, okay? As you get older up here,” he taps Reggie’s head, “if there’s something you want to do that you feel you’re mature enough for, tell me. We’ll figure it out.”

“I will,” Reggie nods. “Thank you.”

“Of course, mijo,” he says. “Now, tell me about your other tattoos.” 

“Really?” Reggie asks. 

“Yeah,” Ray says, “I want to know what’s important enough to become part of you forever.”

“Oh, okay,” Reggie says. He describes each of his tattoos, occasionally lifting his shirt to show the ones that can be seen without taking off his binder. Ray makes little comments about each one, asking about their meanings and which parlor he got them done at. 

“You know,” Ray says after a while, taking a sip from his cocoa, “I may have gotten one of my tattoos when I was your age.”

Reggie’s jaw drops. “You fucking hypocrite.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are appreciated if you enjoyed this :)

**Author's Note:**

> I feel like Ray and Rose would definitely have tattoos so when he finds out about the boys’ he’s all chatty about who their artists were, what they all mean, etc. and then when Julie asks if she can get one he’s like “absolutely not Tía would kill both of us.” 
> 
> I’m wr0temyway0ut on tumblr if you wanna come talk about trans phantoms or just phantoms in general.


End file.
